Process workbook Musical performance 

Throughout the is module I have developed a better understanding and appreciation for musical theatre and performance, moreover vocal practice and warmups to apply these skills to my work. For example, I have learned how to utilise my warmup techniques for my voice and breathing work to my  pre-performances or an objective to help guide my range and tune. I will be talking about what I have learned while providing evidence of my development throughout this workbook. 

Warmups 

Throughout this module I have learned the importance of warming up. Vocal warming up is crucial for actors as it prepares both the throat and mind for the demands of the performance ahead. I know this because, vocal warm-ups reduce the risk of vocal damage and improve vocal performance by preventing vocal strain, increasing blood flow to the vocal cords, improving vocal flexibility, and enhancing vocal control. typically engage in various types of vocal warm-ups, including:
Breathing exercises: Deep breathing exercises help expand lung capacity and support proper breath control for singing. Vocalising scales: Singing scales help warm up the vocal cords, improve pitch accuracy, and increase vocal range. Lip trills and tongue exercises: These exercises help relax and warm up the muscles involved in articulation and pronunciation. Humming exercises: Humming exercises help engage the vocal folds gently and warm up the resonating chambers in the head. Vocal sirens: Sliding up and down the vocal range with sirens helps stretch and loosen the vocal cords. Tongue twisters: Reciting tongue twisters helps improve diction and articulation while also warming up the tongue and mouth muscles. I regularly use these practices since I have seen benefits within my performances. I use these warmup before lessons or performance and often use YouTube as a guide as it has helped me visually learn. 

Golden age era 

The Golden Age of musical theatre is generally considered to be the period from the 1940s to the 1960s. It was characterised by the production of many classic and beloved musicals such as "Carousel", "South Pacific", "My Fair Lady", "West Side Story", and "The Sound of Music", among others. These musicals featured memorable scores, intricate choreography, and compelling storytelling, and they had a significant impact. However "Oklahoma" was to say the all round start of the Golden age. Oklahoma, a show by Rogers and Hammerstein, thrilled the audiences during World War II and ran for 2,212 performances in 1943. The first truly successful musical that was united, with all artistic components working together to advance the story. The lyrics, dances and songs all develop the narrative.  In conclusion, though, the audience as well as the critics adored it and demanded more. Within, My presentation of “Gypsy” my task at hand was to present a musical from the Golden age. My reasoning for my decision of “Gypsy” is because I was drawn to the plot was I found it disturbing yet entertaining. However I was also inspired by Arthur Laurent’s 
Has I have heard about his other work before such as “West side Story”in 1957 and “Hallelujah baby” in 1967. Knowing this I gathered my information about him and discovered Arthur Laurent’s began his career as a writer in the 1940s, working on radio scripts and eventually transitioning to Broadway. He gained recognition for his work as a playwright with plays such as "Home of the Brave" (1945) and "The Time of the Cuckoo" (1952), which was later adapted into the musical "Do I Hear a Waltz?" in collaboration with Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim. In conclusion my knowledge towards broadways Golden age era before this module was close to none, however I have gained a better understanding of it. 

Assessed performances 

Within this module I had to be assessed with three separate song yet one performance as a class. With the information and knowledge I have gathered about warmups and the progress I have made, I now needed to show that I have learned the skills and was able to provide evidence with this said assessed piece. My lecturer informed us that for the exam piece we would have to pick two song from the following genres we studied Disney, Golden Age, pop or rock, or a Stephan Sondheim song. Ultimately, I choice the song “ME” as Gaston for my Disney song and “My Love All Mine” by Mitski for my pop song. Moreover while I rehearsed through the song in class I felt comfortable as it was in my range. Nevertheless as a class we rehearsed through our performances and was informed the by our lecture that we would be conducting a song called Rhythm Of Life for our third and final song as a class. Ultimately me and my colleagues were placed in groups regarding our tune. Finally I was placed in tenors, yet I built on this information has I have always been placed in bass. However I developed into a higher tune and pitch since the transition to tenors. To show these techniques I have gathered I rehearsed and practiced with contrasting of pitch and tempo as I wanted to feel the difference that it made and see how the audience, yet also using my states of tension tool I have be educated on. My reasoning for experimenting between each state is to not only for the audience, but to myself. “All the best performers bring to their role something more, something different than what the author put on paper. That's what makes theatre live. That's why it persists.” This quote by Stephen Sondheim in 1957 is what inspired me to do more . Within my rehearsals I worked well using communication, coordination, yet I was also able to build and give feedback back with each other’s songs when I was rehearsing with my peers. Finally as a class, we had one final rehearsal the day before, nevertheless doing this I felt as a whole that this was beneficial as it gave me an opportunity to receive feedback.

Conclusion 

In summary, this subject has given me useful chest and throat warm-up exercises. Thankfully, my performances have also increased my self-assurance and helped me overcome my vocal anxiety.  Before the class began, I knew very little about the history of musical theatre or such warm-ups. But now that I'm aware of these crucial occasions and advantages, I can use them to further my professional career.



Stephen Sondheim. (1957). https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/stephen_sondheim_331405#google_vignette